


Never a Clean Break

by thundercaya



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Jamie likes Taylor Swift, Joey is emotional, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 02:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4245276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundercaya/pseuds/thundercaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joey tries to keep Jamie from making amends with Seth the day after their handicap match.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never a Clean Break

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fingalsanteater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fingalsanteater/gifts).



> Takes place after Raw June 8, 2015

It was easy for Joey to feel good that night.  He and Jamie were high off their win against the WWE World Heavyweight Champion--arguably the greatest champion of the past decade if not all time--and Kane was buying drinks. They'd done a lot of celebrating in recent months, from all of Seth's wins (and a title-saving disqualification), but that night Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble were celebrating _them_.  


It was impossible for Joey to feel good the next morning. The hangover alone had him wishing for a do-over, and that was nothing compared to how he felt about the Destruction of the Shield 2.0. It was the end of... an era? An age? It was the end of something, and knowing there was no going back was doing an even bigger number on Joey's stomach than the residual alcohol. But maybe there was.... No. Joey knew that breaking away from Seth Rollins was what was, if not best for business, best for him. And more importantly, best for Jamie.  
  
Jamie was not a weak person, but he had a weak spot for Seth. Joey wasn't sure exactly when that had happened. Early on, Seth Rollins was just a job. Protect him and the briefcase from Dean Ambrose. Get a paycheck. Have a nice day. That was it. Just an ordinary job. But Seth was extraordinary. A brilliant strategist and a better wrestler, cunning, athletic, and well--hot.  Jamie had fallen first, and fallen hardest, but Joey couldn't pretend he wasn't right there, too.  
  
Stranger things had happened, and in his time with the WWE Joey had seen many of them himself, but it was still pretty awkward that he and Jamie had connected the way they had over their feelings for Seth. Most people would probably take it as a situation where since neither one of them could have the person they wanted, they were willing to settle for each other. That wasn't what it was at all. It was more the way that watching someone light up when they talk about something they love makes you fall for them. Never mind that "something" wasn't normally a person--this time it was. And when Seth started returning their affection in his own way (an arm around shoulders, a look of veiled concern when one of them took a hit, little things like that), well, there was no reason to feel weird about it, or feel anything at all other than elation.  
  
That was the problem, of course. They were so elated by the whole situation that they were willing to ignore near-constant disrespect for the fleeting tender moments in between. That had ended for Joey the moment that Seth had laid a hand on Jamie. It was one thing to shove someone, out of frustration. Sort of an instinctual move, almost a subconscious desire to put even an inch more space between yourself and the person who's making you angry. Seth shoving Jamie would have been nothing. But a slap was meant to wound both pride and person, and Jamie didn't deserve that. In that moment Joey realized that neither one of them had ever deserved that.

***  
It was a relatively short drive from New Orleans to Lafayette, and now that they didn't have to accommodate Seth's busy schedule as champ, the only deadline for getting out and on the road was the hotel checkout time. Kane was out, having given up on shitty hotel coffee ages ago, but given his headache Joey would take anything right now and put a pot to brew before getting in the shower. If Jamie slept long enough, Joey would make him a cup, and if not he could help himself.  
  
When Joey emerged from the bathroom, Jamie was indeed awake, but the coffee was untouched. Instead Jamie was seated on the edge of the bed, looking down at his cell phone with a look of longing that worried Joey.  
  
"...Hey," Joey greeted cautiously.  
  
Jamie didn't say anything, but made a sound of acknowledgement, not looking up.  
  
Joey grabbed two cups and set to work fixing up both cups of coffee. "Texting someone?" he asked.  
  
Jamie cleared his throat and set his phone next to him on the bed, finally looking up. "No, I was-- I was just... thinking of, uh, calling up Seth. You know, to see if he's okay."  
  
"We beat him," Joey reminded. "He won't want to hear from us."  
  
"That's... yeah, that's true," Jamie said.  
  
"Also," Joey went on, "he doesn't deserve to hear from us. After what he did to you." He held a cup out and Jamie took it with a muttered thanks that could have been directed either at the coffee or at Joey's words. "I mean it," Joey went on, taking a seat next to him on the bed. "Look, you've always stood up for Seth, and for me. But you need to stand up for yourself, too."  
  
"I did stand up for myself," Jamie defended.  
  
"You did," Joey agreed, putting an arm around Jamie's shoulders, "and you did great. But you call him now to be nice you're basically pretending that it never happened. And if he accepts that, it's back to doing everything for him while he treats us like shit."  
  
"I never minded it," Jamie said. "The 'doing things for him' part."  
  
"But you minded the part where he treats you like shit, right?"  
  
Jamie sighed and took a sip from his coffee. "Yeah."  
  
"So we don't call him. We don't text him. We don't contact him. All right?"  
  
"All right," Jamie agreed.  
  
"Good," Joey said, squeezing his shoulder. "You can still put that phone to use, though. Find out how long we have until Kane gets back."  
  
Jamie chuckled lightly. "Kane knows better than to come back without giving us a warning."  
  
***  
As Jamie was prone to distraction and Kane was prone to road rage, driving usually fell to Joey. He was fine with it. Sitting in the back tended to make him carsick, and anyway, he found driving to be soothing. At least, as soothing as anything could be when Jamie had radio privileges. Jamie and Seth used to argue over the music in car rides. Jamie liked country music, whereas Seth was more inclined to various forms of rock, the more obscure the better. Jamie had somehow decided that Seth was anti-country (rather than pro-rock) and so had settled on music by an artist that was only kind of country: Taylor Swift. Given that Taylor Swift wasn't some obscure artist that no one had ever heard of, it didn't really fix the problem, but that hadn't stopped Jamie from getting hooked. Joey had gotten pretty good at tuning out once he'd had enough of listening to the same singer nonstop, but today he couldn't seem to.  
  
_I see your face in my mind as I drive away,_  
_'Cause none of us thought it was gonna end that way._  
_People are people, and sometimes we change our minds._  
_But it's killing me to see you go after all this time._  
  
Too fucking apt, these lyrics, and if they were bothering Joey they were probably tugging Jamie's heartstrings and making the phone sitting on his lap look more and more appealing. Joey reached for the stereo console and switched it from CD to FM. Out poured... Taylor Swift. The woman was everywhere. Joey turned the radio off.  
  
"Hey!" Jamie protested, reaching for the radio himself to turn it back on.  
  
"I have a headache," Joey defended. At least it wasn't a lie even if it wasn't his true motivation.  
  
"Oh," Jamie said, sitting back.  
  
"I could drive," Kane put in from the back seat.  
  
"That's not a good idea," Joey said. "Remember what happened last time?"  
  
"Last time was not my fault," Kane said. "That other driver told me to go to hell. Can you blame me for sending him there first?"  
  
"Still, I think Jamie should drive, if he's up to it." Getting Jamie to put his phone away was a priority. "Jamie?"  
  
"Sure," Jamie said. "Just pull into that gas station over there and we can switch."  
  
***  
Kane was meeting with Stephanie and Triple H for dinner. Jamie and Joey stayed back, not sure yet where they currently stood with them. Yes, Stephanie and Triple H weren't exactly happy with Seth these days, but he was still their champion, their future, their golden child. Kane promised he'd find out the state of things and try to smooth out any bumps. Though he was ever loyal to his old friend Triple H, he'd been thrilled to see Seth take a beating and was more than happy to show his appreciation by helping Jamie and Joey out in any way he could.  
  
As much as Joey didn't feel like doing anything, Jamie was fiddling with his phone again, and Joey couldn't let him get very far with that.  
  
"Are you hungry?" Joey asked. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."  
  
"Why don't we just order in?" Jamie suggested, laying back on the bed. "Or if you really want to grab something, bring something back for me."  
  
Those two ideas were bad and worse.  
  
"No, come on, let's go," Joey insisted. "I'll take you somewhere nice. It'll be fun."  
  
Jamie sighed. "Do you really feel like having fun right now?"  
  
"No," Joey admitted. "But I think that's all the more reason why we should try."  
  
Jamie sat up. "I understand what you're trying to do and I appreciate it, but we're not going to get over this in a day."  
  
"I know that," Joey said, massaging his temple. "Of course I know that. But we do need to get _through_ today. If we can't get through _one day_ without him, how are we gonna get through the week? The month? The... the rest of--" His voice broke at the same time as the rest of him. "The rest of our lives."  
  
"Hell, Joey," Jamie said, eyebrows knit with concern. "Come here, huh?"  
  
"No," Joey said, covering his face. This whole time he was acting like he was protecting Jamie when he was really protecting himself. Because if Jamie went back, he'd go back, too. Because he couldn't do this on his own.  
  
"Come on," Jamie said.  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
Jamie patted the bed. "Please, Joey."  
  
Joey took a deep breath and complied. Jamie put his arms around Joey and pulled him in tight.  
  
"It's okay," Jamie said as Joey shook in his arms. "It's okay, huh? I'm here. We're gonna get through it okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Joey forced out, his forehead pressed into Jamie's shoulder, soaking Jamie's shirt sleeve with his tears. "I know. I know."  
  
"Yeah, we both know," Jamie said. He released the hug and cupped Joey's face. "Maybe tomorrow we'll actually believe it."  
  
Joey leaned into the touch. He got emotional pretty often, so it was hard for him to recognize or accept when it was actually okay to get that way. Why not be sad today? Why not let that feeling run its course?  
  
"Thanks for earlier, by the way," Jamie continued. "When you stopped me from calling him. I was so close to doing it. Would've wrecked everything."  
  
"You never wreck anything," Joey assured.  
  
"Except our opponents in a fight?" Jamie offered, almost smiling.  
  
Joey did smile. "Yeah, except that. We wrecked _him_ pretty good last night."  
  
They stopped smiling again, but that was okay. Let it run its course.  



End file.
